Article | REF: BIO9300 V1

Pollution of oceans by plastics and microplastics

Authors: François GALGANI, Stéphane BRUZAUD, Guillaume DUFLOS, Pascale FABRE, Emmanuelle GASTALDI, Jeff GHIGLIONE, Régis GRIMAUD, Matthieu GEORGE, Arnaud HUVET, Fabienne LAGARDE, Ika PAUL-PONT, Alexandra TER HALLE

Publication date: January 10, 2020, Review date: September 2, 2020

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2. What happens to plastic at sea

2.1 Transport

General ocean circulation has long been known, and is subject to a number of forces (Coriolis force, atmospheric circulation, weather patterns, etc.). These forces govern the movement of water masses with ocean currents of great amplitude and low speed, known as geostrophic currents, which influence the distribution of these small floating particles, which are then transported over very long distances.

Example

in the north-east Atlantic, waste from the Bay of Biscay in Spain and Portugal is picked up by the general circulation and moved south-westwards, where it is picked up by the equatorial circulation, transporting it westwards where it accumulates in the North Atlantic Gyre.

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